From Where I Came
by Moonlit Steps
Summary: My first Redwall fanfic so don't bash me on how horrible it is. R


**Okay this is my first Redwall fanfic that I acutally wrote for a school assignment, which is why it's a bit rushed. Anyway, enjoy!**

It had been three seasons since the rescue of Mattimeo and his friends

It had been three seasons since the rescue of Mattimeo and his friends. His father, Matthias, stood in Redwall Abbey's Great Hall, staring at the Tapestry of Martin the Warrior. The two Champions were almost mirror images of each other. It was amazing how much they looked alike. It couldn't be just a mere coincidence. Matthias had been pondering this thought for some while now. He had no memory of his family other than his sister, Myrtle. It could have been possible that he was a descendant of Martin. Matthias sighed. It would be a fool's journey to look for his family tree.

Cornflower had been watching him, as she always did these evenings. She decided to make her presence known as she sidled up to her husband. Matthias jumped a little when he heard her voice. "My, what a long sigh that was. What troubles you, warrior?"

"Cornflower, you startled me."

"I apologize," she replied. "You still didn't answer my question. What ails you?"

"It's nothing."

"Matthias, really." Cornflower gave Matthias a knowing look.

"I've been thinking," he answered.

"About…"

"Well…stand over there." Matthias directed her opposite the tapestry wall.

Cornflower went and planted herself directly opposite the figure of Martin.

"Good." Matthias then stood next to the tapestry. "Now tell me, Cornflower, what difference do you see between Martin and me?"

"Nothing at all," she answered.

"Exactly, that's what puzzles me."

"That you and Martin look alike?"

"Yes, it couldn't be just by a mere chance that he and I look precisely the same."

"Well, in all sense you may have a point there, dear husband, but what else do you suggest might be the reason behind it?"

They had started walking towards the staircases directing to the dormitories and they were now sitting upon the steps leading upstairs. Matthias began explaining his reasoning. "Let me explain. When I first came here I was just Dibbun. I don't remember much before that but some things I do recall.

I used to live in a village, I think northwest of here, called Parsil. I lived with my parents, grandmother and siblings. We were a poor family and could only spend enough for a crust of bread. Then one day, a vermin raid came swooping on our village. They raged about burning down homes. The vermin set my house on fire as well. My elder sister, Myrtle, and I were the lucky ones. We escaped from the back. The rest of our family, however, I don't think survived through it. From then on my sister and I traveled a while until we came upon Redwall. The journey has taken its toll on Myrtle and she died two days after our arrival.

Now I'm wondering, what if our village was a place where Martin had left his mark?"

"What on earth do you mean by that, Matthias?" Cornflower asked, utterly confused.

"Do you remember the story of Martin and his father?" Matthias asked, trying to explain.

She answered, "Yes, I remember. Martin went questing with his friends to find out what happened to his father, Luke. Turned out that after he left their cave in the northland shores he and his crew had been captured by corsairs. He then escaped with a few friends and he died after fighting off the ones trying to bring them back."

"Exactly. Now I'm thinking what if Luke left behind a family member other than Martin?"

"Oh Matthias, it could be possible. I only hope that we can figure the mystery behind your family. Come, it's late. Let's get some rest." Cornflower stood and helped Matthias to his feet. They walked paw in paw to their room. Since Mattimeo and Tess had wed, the older couple took residence in a room next to the dormitories.

Matthias dreamt of his homeland as he slept. Though, it didn't look as he remembered. Instead of the poor town by the seaside, he saw a thriving village with trees a plenty with fruit, small mice, moles and other such beasts playing about, elders sitting in the shade watching the young ones. The scene faded and in its place stood Martin the Warrior. Just as he had visited before, Martin brought on a sense of security and calmness upon the former Abbey Champion. He spoke to Matthias. "You were right, Matthias. My father did leave behind a relative. Though, he barely spoke of Sciris." Behind him an older mouse came to stand next to him. He wore a simple, green tunic with a leather bound belt and a dagger thrust in one of the loops. Matthias assumed that this was Sciris. Sciris then spoke,

"Away from home

Is where I went

From where I stopped

Is where ye descent

To get where you want

My word you must heed

Standing out by gates

Up the path you must proceed

Keep going straight

Until river of moss you meet

Follow that river

Until a pine ye greet

And there lies the place

Where 'twas once home to ye

The answers you seek

There will be"

It was Martin who had the final word. "Awaken now, old warrior. A journey awaits you." The dream faded and Matthias soon woke up. Sunlight streamed into his eyes from the window. He sat upright, rubbing eyes.

"So you're finally awake, it's a good thing too. Otherwise Basil might finish up all of breakfast before we even get to Cavern Hole." Matthias turned his head to see Cornflower up and about. "Cornflower, I have to tell you something."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait. I will meet you downstairs. I've got a few things I need to take care of first." After she left the room, Matthias hurried to get dressed. He came down a while later and found his wife talking with Tess. He rushed towards her.

"There you are Matthias, come and sit. I've already brought your breakfast"

"Thank you." Matthias sat across from her.

"Now what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Last night, Martin visited me in a dream."

"Really, what did he say?"

"He told me that I was right about me being related to a relative of his named Sciris." At this, Cornflower smiled. While eating, Matthias told her the rest of the dream and about the riddle. They now come out and walked towards the orchard, reflecting over the riddle.

"Well, it's a lot easier than some of the other riddles we've solved in the past," Cornflower commented.

"It is pretty straightforward. The first part tells us a bit of history. Sciris left his home and settled in Parsil, making me a descendant of him."

"Right, and in the next two parts it gives you directions to get there. It says to go straight up on the path outside the Abbey until you come up to the River Moss. Then you have to follow the river until you see a pine tree. That is where Parsil should be," Cornflower interpreted.

"Oh yes, I remember now. The village was marked by a small pine tree growing on the outer edge of the town. I suppose it's a great big pine by now. It has been a good several years since I've seen it," Matthias inferred.

"I say, now. What's all this talk about pine trees and rivers, wot?" Both Matthias and Cornflower gave a small jump as Basil had snuck up behind them. The lanky hare twiddled his ears awaiting an answer. Matthias was first to recover.

"Basil, you startled us."

"Oh, sorry old chap. Now then what exactly were we talking about?"

Matthias and Cornflower related the story to their friend. Only when they had finished the tale, did Basil speak up. "Well, it's pretty clear what you should do, wot. You've got to go the bloomin' old village and find out about your past, Matthias, and I'll come with you, wot."

"Thank you, Basil friend, that is just what I was about to suggest."

"I'm coming to, Matthias," Cornflower declared.

"But, Cornflower…" The look she gave her husband closed down on any arguments he had. "Alright, 'tis settled then. We three will travel to Parsil. I think there is still time that we can leave today."

"Agreed, old chap."

"I'll get everything ready for us to leave. You two go tell Abbot Mordalfus of our mission." Cornflower left towards the main Abbey building to talk with the good Friar about the provisions they would need for the trip.

Basil and Matthias went to look for Father Abbot. They found him in the gatehouse reading. The pair related to him the story. The Abbot then gave them his blessings and wished them on their way.

In a short while, all three travelers were out on the path, each one carrying a haversack and waving their goodbyes to their friends on the ramparts. On the contrary to what Matthias believed, the journey was fairly easy with no trouble from anybeast. Some days later they arrived at the small village.

It was a wonderful sight to behold. The trees were filled to bursting with bright green leaves, some bearing fruit. The sea beyond the village sparkled in the sunlight. The sounds of laughter and general talk added to the friendly air about the place. What really made an impression was the great pine tree standing amid the rowan and oak trees.

A mole trundled by bearing a small wheelbarrow. As he saw the travelers, stopped and tugged his snout politely and greeted them with a very bass voice. "Ho hurr, gudd day to ee zurrs an' marm. Moi name bee's Urthclaw, welcumm to Parsil. Wot bee's you gennelbeasts doin' 'ear."

Matthias elected himself as spokesbeast. "Hello, I'm Matthias of Redwall. This is my wife, Cornflower and this hare is my friend, Basil Stag Hare."

"Wait, did you'm say you'm bee's called Matthoias?" Urthclaw asked.

"Yes…I did," Matthias answered slowly, clearly confused.

"Ho hurr, you'm cumm with oi, zurr, and bring ee friends. Thurr bee's somebeast who wants ter meet yer." The friendly mole picked up his wheelbarrow and turned back to Matthias. "Cumm on naow, oi'll take ee gennelbeasts to moi friend."

Matthias, Cornflower, and Basil shared a glance as they followed their strange friend. Urthclaw led them down a path to a small cottage. It was homely, made of bricks, wood and straw. Urthclaw went up to the door and knocked on it smartly. "Hurr zurr Lewis, et bee oi, Urthclaw, opun ee door, oi've got guests with oi."

A deep, friendly voice called out from the other side of the door. "Well, don't stand there all day, friend. Come in!" As he stepped in the cottage, the first thing Matthias noticed was the sword hanging over the fireplace on the opposite wall. It had a sleek double-edged blade and the hilt was bound in black letter, engraved with the letter "S" in rubies. Looking closely, Matthias saw it also had an engraved rose on the hilt.

"Hello, there. I'm Lewis." The mouse looked just as old, if not older than Matthias. He wore a red tunic and had his long headfur pulled back with a string. Introductions were made all around. When Lewis, came to Matthias his face wore an expression of surprise. "Oh my goodness, how big you've grown," he murmured.

"Excuse me?" Matthias asked, baffled. He and Cornflower shared confused looks.

"Hurr, oi'll be leavin' ee all to talk, guddbye all!" Urthclaw went out to his wheelbarrow and pushed it along towards the center of the village.

Lewis turned back to Matthias. "Ah, I'm sorry. It's just been so long since I've clapped eyes on you. You probably don't remember me since you were but a mite then." He then realized the situation. "Excuse me, you all must tired after coming such a long way. Come and sit, we have much to talk about." Lewis led them to a small table in the corner. He laid out some beakers of October Ale and a dish of candied chestnuts. "There you are. Sorry it isn't much, but I wasn't expecting any guests."

"Excuse me, sir, but did you Matthias when he was younger?" Cornflower asked.

"Oh, indeed I did marm. You see I am Matthias' brother," Lewis explained.

Matthias was even more confused now then ever. "But after the vermin burned our house, Myrtle and I were the only ones left."

"Actually, what happened was I found a trapdoor in the floor and hid there just after our house caught afire. I stayed there a full day until I knew the vermin left. When I came out, everything was in ruins. A few beasts survived but none that many." Lewis cleared his throat. "But enough about that, you are here to find out about our family's past are you not? How we are connected to Martin the Warrior?"

"How did you know about that?" Matthias asked.

Lewis smiled. "Ah, that is another thing you don't know about me. You see, I have the gift of a seer. In my mind's eye, I see things that are to come, most of the time it happens when I dream. In this case, I had a dream that somebeast named Matthias was going to come to my house and ask me about my family's past. I had no idea it would be my younger brother."

"Well, yes you were right; I want to know how I am connected to Martin the warrior."

"Now where to start; well, our line goes all the way back to Martin's father Luke. Only it was his brother, Sciris, who came down and settled in Parsil."

Matthias interrupted, "That's the mouse that was in my dream! He and Martin came to me in a dream and told me I had to come here if I wanted to find answers about myself."

"Is that so? Well, Martin does do that often to special beasts. Shall we continue with our story?"

"Oh yes, uh, carry on."

"As I was saying, our ancestor, Sciris, settled I Parsil long before Martin ever came to Mossflower. He used to live with his brother on the northern coast, but something went amiss between them so Sciris traveled south. However, before he could make it to Parsil, he was attacked by a vermin band. Now most vermin are bullies, but these ones had been in that area for a long time and they decided to have some fun." Lewis' eyes flashed, feeling nothing but hatred towards the foul creatures. "After they had finished with Sciris, they went off to torment some other beast. Though, he was not dead, he was heavily wounded. Luckily, some moles from our village had been passing that way on some business. When they found Sciris, they took him straight away to the village healer and her daughter. The healer's daughter took care of him for almost a week before he woke up. When he did, she talked and comforted him. It wasn't long after his recovery that the two married." Cornflower smiled and took Matthias' paw. Lewis continued with his account. "Afterwards they had a baby mousling named Sorran. He lived to become our great-great-great grandfather." Lewis stood up walking over to the fireplace and took down the sword that hung there. "This is the sword Sciris fought with when the vermin attacked him." He put it back in its place and went over to collect the beakers and plate that had been emptied out during the story. "Well, that's all there is to the family history. You are welcome to stay here as long as you want."

Matthias also stood up. "Thank you, Lewis, but we will be leaving tomorrow morning. We have to get back to Redwall. They will be awaiting us."

"I understand. I'll fill you up on provisions. Why don't you all get some rest?" the story had taken so long it was passed sunset. Before they went off to sleep, Cornflower had one last thing to ask Matthias. "So, how do you feel now, my warrior?" Matthias smiled at her. "Better than I've felt in a long while."

* * *

**Ta-Da! 8D**


End file.
